Pleasant Unity
CRIME & SAFETY
Pittsburgh-area woman sentenced for deadly DUI crash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Westmoreland County woman was sentenced to 6 to 15 years in prison for her role in a fatal crash in 2022. The Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said 44-year-old Ahna Malik was sentenced to prison by Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio on Tuesday in connection with the crash that killed 57-year-old Dawn Coyne. Malik was previously found guilty in May on all 17 counts, including homicide by vehicle while DUI, according to the DA's news release. The deadly head-on crash happened in Hempfield Township in March 2022. The district attorney's office said Malik attempted to pass several vehicles on Arona Road before crashing into oncoming traffic, hitting and killing Coyne.Officials said toxicology reports found that Malik had drugs in her system, including crystal methamphetamine and marijuana, at the time of the crash. Law enforcement also found narcotics in Malik's vehicle, leading to several drug-related charges, the news release said.
Traffic stop unveils alleged domestic incident
A Derry Township man faces simple assault and related charges stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred last week. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, members of the Pennsylvania State Police at Greensburg were conducting routine patrol at approximately 12:15 a.m. Friday, July 19, on the southbound lane of Depot Street near South Alexandria Street in Latrobe when officers observed a tan Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Derry man jailed for drug possession in Blairsville
A Derry Township man is in Indiana County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond, awaiting court action on charges filed after a traffic stop last week in Blairsville,. Blairsville Borough Police Chief Louis J. Sacco said Walter Scott Zylo, 49, was arrested shortly after 10 p.m. July 19, in the area of U.S. Route 22 and Dixon Street, when he was stopped by borough police for an inoperable brake lamp.
Jeannette Community Outcry as City Shuts Down K-9 Program Amid Fiscal Strife and Officer Lawsuit
The City of Jeannette has pulled the plug on its K-9 program, with city officials citing "cost prohibitive" concerns amid an ongoing lawsuit over overtime pay. The shutdown comes off the back of claims by Sgt. James Phillips and Officer Matthew Painter, the handlers for K-9s Diesel and Kilo, for unpaid overtime linked to the care of their dogs – care which they aver took up to an hour extra each day, as reported by TribLive.
Feds: Drug raid yields more than 100 kilos of cocaine plus heroin, fentanyl from McKeesport, Monroeville, Penn Hills
A federal drug investigation has led to charges for four men who police said were in possession of 116 kilograms of cocaine. That amount is equivalent to more than 250 pounds. Federal officials investigating drug activity in Western Pennsylvania executed sealed search warrants for homes and vehicles in McKeesport, Monroeville, Murrysville and Penn Hills on June 27.
Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Bellefonte Area Drug Overdose Deaths
A Westmoreland County man has pleaded guilty to providing drugs that caused the overdose deaths of two women in Spring Township more than two years ago. Timothy J. King, 38, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday for two felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, Centre County Assistant District Attorney Julia Lockman said. According to the plea agreement, King faces a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3 by Judge Julia Rater. Additional felony charges of criminal use of a communication facility and possession with intent to deliver, as well as...
Jeannette shutters K9 program as 'cost prohibitive'
Jeannette officials on Thursday announced the city has shuttered its police department’s K9 unit. “Critically, any new and unknown costs associated with the program made maintaining the program cost prohibitive in light of the city’s already stretched funding and budgetary constraints,” according to a statement released by city leaders.
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